Five Parsecs From Home Forays (18/2/24 Mission 6 AAR with pictures)

[Legionnaire]

Work, life and health have all affected my gaming, but here's the 6th mission in my Five Parsecs From Home solo campaign! Hope you'll enjoy this latest installment  .

"Captain Dhosh-Wongha, I am Executive De Palma," the smartly dressed gentleman of indeterminate age had a firm handshake and his teeth gleamed like a toothpaste commercial.
"I represent United Composites and we have heard much good about you and your competent crew. We would like to offer you a job opportunity!"
Archibald sat down in his comfortable chair in the captain's quarters and toyed with a laser stylus, letting the man sweat for a few seconds.
"I see, Executive De Palma, but what makes you think we would consider your offer?" Archiebald shrugged his shoulders and leant back.
"I am reliably informed that, although you've mostly been acting in the interests of one of your competitors, the local government has also enjoyed your services on at least one occasion."
Archibald hesitated for only a split second, damn! This was far from public knowledge, obviously Executive De Palma had some very good sources!

"But, if you allow me Captain," Captain, yes, Archibald liked to be called Captain...
"You can be rest assured that none of our business will interfere with any other business you may conduct. We simply would like to retrieve a drone unit that was lost 48hrs ago in a cargo district." He efficiently produced some holopics of a robot unit.
"The matter is complicated by a large unit of Abductor Raiders in the area," The Executive visibly shuddered.
"We simply can't risk any of our own valuable personnel being caught by them, the information and secrets they potentially could gain... but let me put it bluntly, you and your crew are expendable."

"In return for your services, we are prepared to offer a highly trained stand-by Trauma Team, strictly off the books of course. And along with a more than decent paycheck, we can also offer one of our rapid deployment shuttles to transport you to the operations area and they will also extract you when you've fulfilled the mission. There will be no records of this flight whatsoever, so there is no risk that anyone will be able to find out your involvement in this. Because if things go sideways... the whole planet may be at risk of an invasion from those abominations!!!"

Archibald let the words sink in. The Abductors were an alien race, rumours of horrible twisted experiments performed on other sentient beings and several worlds overrun by them. That was a big risk to take, but after looking over the contract, the rewards were generous and the support from United Composites was worth 5 stars!

"I'll brief my team Executive De Palma. We will be ready within the hour." They shook hands once more and Archibald gathered himself for delivering the news...

Patron Mission
Bitter Struggle
+2 Credits Danger Pay
Curious Item on the battlefield worth +1 CR
Secure Mission

UNITED COMPOSITES BENEFITS (ALWAYS FOR A MISSION FOR THEM)

Health Insurance (mark down 2 Campaign Turns of Injury Recovery assigned as I see fit)
Private Transport (Rivals can't Track me this Campaign Turn)

6 Abductor Raiders (Colony Rifles)
2 Abductor Raiders Specialists (Power Claw)
1 Abductor Raider Lieutenant (Shotgun + Blade)
1 Abductor Raider Veteran (Military Rifle)


The unmarked shuttle barely touched the ground dropping them off before it flew away again in the fading light. The crew spread out and took up positions amongst the smell of fuel, grease and metal. Atlas and Archibald got up on top and levelled their guns at the courtyard, safeties off.
"I see movement," Atlas whispered and he braced the big Auto Rifle on the bipod against the parapet. He briefly held his breath and squeezed the trigger. The DAKKADAKKADAKKA when he fired was deafening. A big headed figure danced a macabre dance and fell!
"Here they come, be ready. Fire at will!" Archibald shouted as the whole courtyard seemed to come alive with people everywhere!!!

Enemies were firing from all around, bullets pinged off the parapet where Atlas were, inches from his face and Sister Barbarita got some plaster splash into her eyes, giving her momentarily pause. But she raced ahead, swiftly, determined on the Hover Board. It went too fast for her to do anything else, but it brought her within just a few feet of the downed drone! Now, they only needed a short while to extract the information...

"No eyes on target, holding!" Archibald and Daphnee reported, scanning the area. There were footsteps echoing all around but they couldn't see anyone. Torbein and Hyacinth moved forwards.

There were shouts from the courtyard in a strange alien language. Despite losing a raider so quickly, it didn't seem to bother the Abductors at all, rather spurring them on and making them more resolute! Hyacinth has a scarred veteran coming into her view, he's big and mean so she aims carefully but to her dismay, her shot goes wild! Atlas readjusts his aim and opens up fire with the Auto Rifle, a second raider is crying out in pain and then lies still. Atlas is once more coming under fire and decides to hunker down behind the parapet, those bullets were too close for comfort! The grim veteran returns fire at Hyacinth, but thanks to her black stealth suit, the bullets misses their intended target! Daphnee grips the butt of her Colony Rifle and fires at one of the raiders but the bullets only manage to make ragged holes in the wall. Archibald takes careful aim with his Needle Rifle and squeezes off a shot at the veteran. He sees him stagger from the impact of the shot but he grits his teeth and keep on coming! Sister Barbarita draws her Handgun and fires off several rounds that makes one of the raiders pause and reflect upon the situation. Torbein fires at an enemy but the bullets ricochet away. The enemies put on a burst of speed and closes the gap swiftly, the crew is taken by surprise by this.
"Stop them, take them out! Do whatever you have to or we'll be run over!" Archibald shouted.
"On it Captain," Atlas shouts back, already calculating optimal tactical choice.

Atlas swaps loadout and brings the Shellgun to bear, the grenade PLOMP's off and detonates, but as the dust settles only one of the raiders seems to be affected, he's reeling from side to side and shakes his head, trying to clear the ringing in his ears. Archibald fires his Needle Rifle again and this time one of the Power Claw wielding specialists bites the dust. Sister Barbarita comes under fire and decides to seek cover behind the car wreack. Hyacinth is coming under heavy fire, the apparent leader is brandishing a nasty Shotgun but luckily the car wreck takes the majority of the hit and the veteran fires an accurate shot at her... only to be disintegrated by the Deflector Screen she's wearing! She smiles and gives him the Finger before ducking behind the car wreck. The bullets riddle the car wreck where Hyacinth stood a second before. The raiders probably didn't like her gesture...

Atlas feeds another shell into the breech and fires again. This time both the veteran and one of the raiders get caught in the explosion and neither is moving after the dust settles! Torbein double taps one of the raiders and the abductor falls mortally wounded. Daphnee takes careful aim with her Colonial Rifle but misses her intended target! Sister Barbarita surges forward, igniting her Glare Sword. The raider makes big fearful eyes and turns to run when she cuts him down, severing his spine with one swipe!

"Look out! More incoming!" Torbein glances over the edge of the roof and sees two more raiders trying to sneak up on him!

The raider forces are heavily decimated, having taken heavy casualties. Out of the original 10 enemies, only the Lieutenant and one of the grunts remain, reinforced with two more that had almost managed to ambush them.
"Why won't they just simply give up?" Torbein wondered...

Torbein jumps down from the roof and shoots at a raider but misses. The Lieutenant wields a wicked curved blade and goes toe to toe with Hyacinth, who holds her own and manages to draw first blood! Everyone else of the enemies seems to bear a grudge against Sister Barbarita and in a hail of gunfire she hides behind the car, putting her arms over her head as metal and glass rain down over her! Hyacinth fights back and gives the Lieutenant a second cut with her own blade! She breaks away and seeing the space, Archibald takes the opportunity! He fires once and the Lieutenant collapses riddled with needles, his unseeing eyes gazing up at the sky. Atlas gathers his gear and jumps to the ground, the crew pushing forwards as the raiders keep falling around them!

There are only three raiders left standing now, with no leadership. Atlas' Shell Gun booms and one of the raiders redecorate the wall. Hyacinth fires her Military Rifle and another raider is injured, holding his bleeding leg. The raider make a last futile attempt at defiance but their shots go wild. Torbein steps out from behind the corner and double taps one of the raiders at ten feet, the raider moves no more after that. Daphnee fires her Colonial Rifle and shoots the last remaining raider in the shoulder whilst Sister Barbarita rushes her shot. Daphnee takes a moment to readjust and finally pumps a single bullet through the raider's forehead. There's a quiet over the scene and the crew relaxes slowly as the adrenaline is leaving them. 12 fallen raiders on the ground and none of the crew have any serious injuries! A perfect, or maybe just a lucky mission!

With the area secured, the crew can take their time dealing with the drone and the curious object. It turns out the object could be worth something to a collector...

AFTERMATH

The Curious Item was worth +1 CR
Payout for the mission was 6+2 (Danger Pay) 8CR
Nothing of value on the battlefield... 
Invasion Threath, roll of 8 so no Invasion but close...
Steel Boots Loot

After all the XP awards, both Atlas and Archibald increased their Reactions (both at 3!), I very rarely get more than 1 crew member to activate in the Quick Phase  .

Campaign Event, Sold cargo worth 6 CR!
Torbein changes style (Character Event)
Bought 3 Blades for 3 Credits.

The Crew has now got the necessary 20 Analysis Points to continue their Quest, so that's probably my next Mission.

Credits 18!!!
Patrons 3
Rivals 1 (Twilight Suns Pirates)
Story Points 5

1x Trade Goods (worth 1D6 CR when visiting other planet)
3x Med Patches
2x Personal Trinkets (worth CR on 9+ visiting other planet)
2x Booster Pills
Vital Info
5 Spare Parts (can be used to repair ship)
Fuel Rods (worth 2 CR Fuel Cost)
Hover Board (9" movement but can't use Combat Action in the round you move)

[ithoriel]

As ever, a good looking game and a great AAR.

"Nothing of value on the battlefield... " - always a bummer!

[Legionnaire]

As ever, a good looking game and a great AAR.

"Nothing of value on the battlefield... " - always a bummer!

Thank you mate! It was nice to have time to return to the adventures once more .

I have been quite fortunate so far with my findings, and I raked in a total of 15 Credits this turn so I can live with this .

I think I've rolled "Change Style" on Personal Event at least twice out of six times 

[mikedemana]

Sounds like a furious battle. Your crew is tough and deadly to opponents!

Mike Demana

[Legionnaire]

Sounds like a furious battle. Your crew is tough and deadly to opponents!

Mike Demana

It certainly was! We were outnumbered 10-6 at the start, but it did help that most of the enemies had no bonuses to attacks and LOTS of 1's rolled, on both sides  .

I finally got lucky with one of the three Shell Gun shots (hits on a straight up 4+) but I don't think I've EVER rolled this poorly in general on Damage rolls.

I was concerned until the tide turned in our favour by Turn 4. My initial battle plan was for Sister Barbarita to swoop in as quickly as possible on the Hover Board to the Objective. She had to be within 2" of it for TWO consecutive Turns with no enemy within 6" to achieve the objective. With enemies swarming everywhere, that wasn't feasible. Also, thanks to them becoming Fearless by end of Turn 2, I had to do it the hard way...

The really good news are, with 18 Credits in the bank, I am now looking at finally giving Daphnee the Medic Training, which was one of my Goals right from the start before even playing the first game  .

I'm also going to look over the loadouts for the crew and do some rearrangements and tweaks.

[Legionnaire]

                                CAMPAIGN TURN 7

"Torbein, gather everyone in the galley in 15 minutes. I have several things to go over with the crew." Captain Alistair Dhosh-Whonga signed off on the intercom.

"My dear friends. YOU have made me proud being your captain! We started out with not much more than this indebted ship and the clothes on our backs not so long ago," Captain Alistair smiled warmly at them.
"We have been through some tough scrapes together. But because you all are supporting each other, we are now having a very bright future ahead of us. I have several things that I'd like to share with you." They were looking relaxed in their comfortable chairs, sipping the offered drinks and enjoying the nibbles provided. They really deserved a treat!

"First, I'd like to announce, due to all your hard work and efforts, we are now officially debt free! We OWN The Arbiter to 100%! And..." he paused for a moment to let the applause and the shouts die down.
"we have managed to put aside not an insignificant sum. Therefore, I'd like you to come forward, Daphnee."

The slender red hair looked around bewildered and pointed at herself looking very dumbstruck. Alistair encouraged her and she finally stood up.
"I remember, it seems so long ago. But I remember the first time I spoke to you Daphnee, do you remember what you told me?" The young woman was silent for a moment and looked into the floor.
"You told me, you had left your family and EVERYTHING behind, and you hoped to one day become a... what Daphnee?"
"A... a doctor captain," her voice was soft and barely audible.
"A doctor! What a noble pursuit. Therefore, it is with great pleasure I can now tell you that I have, on your behalf, sent in an application for you to enrol in Med School!"
"What?... How?... But why?..." the poor girl struggled to find the right words and looked like she was going to pass out.
"Because you deserve it dear! Now, the classes don't start until later this cycle, but that gives you time to prep doesn't it!" Daphnee gave him such a forceful hug she nearly took his breath away.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou... I will not disappoint you.." Her face was lit up with pure joy and she gave him one more squeeze before returning to her seat, being congratulated by the rest of the crew.

"You do right by me, and I will do right by you! It's as simple as that! And even though Daphnee is soon off to save lives, our time together has taught us that violence is never far away! We have managed so far, but sometimes we've just been lucky. Chief Atlas and I have discussed some improvements to our ways to operate."

"First off. Chief Atlas has time and time again proved himself in the face of battle and he's keeping The Arbiter running flawlessly. Therefore, he's now assuming the role of First Mate. Any concerns you have you may raise with him."

"Secondly. Hyacinth, you have proven to be a VERY resourceful and reliable lady. No doubt that Unity Security Bureau training has come in handy. You will be our designated Helmsman, or maybe it should be Helmswoman."

"Thirdly. Sister Barbarita, with the latest research, we have found out that our next possible unearthing of your Order's Ancient Writings don't lay here, but on Friden's Valley. Therefore, tomorrow we will embark on a journey there to hopefully resolve your Geas."

"Fourthly, and last. I think to boost our chances for continued survival, I have taken the liberty to upgrade some of your equipment so we can be better prepared for things to come. Protection has proven to be difficult to come by for independent traders, but at least I have managed to procure some new armaments! Please gather around."

With a flourish he unveiled a couple of covered metal boxes, proving to contain some Colonial Rifles and swords. They were distributed amongst Sister Barbarita, Torbein and Daphnee.

Credits have been put aside to enrol Daphnee into Med School.
Swapped some of the Handguns for Colonial Rifles and gave everyone with no melee weapon a Blade.

The following day they set course for Friden's Valley, a planet a short jump away. Hyacinth plotted in the course and the ship shuddered lightly, as if eager to be on the way. Only hours into the journey the intercom came alive:
"Captain, we have three incoming vessels. Small flyers, pirates most likely. What action shall we take?" Hyacinth spoke from the helm.
"Let's hear what they want first, our ship isn't really equipped for fight, so let's avoid that as much as possible. I'll be down on the bridge shortly."
"The Arbiter, this is Jeron Binks. You know you are trespassing on our domain so we will have to ask you to pay a tribute for that," the man looked confident and smiled on the holo screen.
"Jeron Binks, I am Agent Begonia of the USB," Hyacinth snapped as soon as he had stopped talking. Her whole demeanour changed. There was no doubt that she was in charge here. The man's eyes popped wide open.
"I am on a highly sensitive mission and I have no time for delays. I'm sure the USB will take GREAT interest in you and your affairs if I have to report WHY this mission failed." She cocked an eyebrow and it was satisfying to see the man sweat profusely.
"Agent Begonia... forgive me... I had NO idea... Please continue."
Hyacinth killed the transmission and swivelled her chair around.
"By the time they figure out that all my clearances have been revoked, we will be long gone."
"So let's step on it, no need to linger here any longer. Engage." Captain Alistair commanded.

En route to Friden's Valley they had a Pirate encounter, but Hyacinth with Savvy 3 and a past in the intelligence community smoothly turned them away.

"Everyone needs a license to work on Friden's Valley, you think you could whip something up Hyacinth?"
"Sure Captain, no problem at all. Give me half an hour. They wouldn't know the difference from a real permit."

Friden's Valley requires a License which would cost 2 Credits. But I didn't feel like paying, so Hyacinth made one. Having an ex spy in your employee comes in handy now and then  .

The crew soon discovered that Friden's Valley was a bit of a popular resort, it had beaches, forests, mountains and lots of space. It was very clean, technologically advanced and run efficiently. In the port, the crew had already a buyer lined up for some goods they've kept for just this purpose.

The planet has Technological Knowledge, which gives +1 to all Repair rolls. They earned 5 Credits for the goods.

As they were familiarising themselves with the new environments, they divided the chores. Sister Barbarita and Mrs Haxwell the cook dressed up in their best and went looking for job opportunities. Hyacinth, Captain Archibald and Torbein took to the streets to get the lay of the land and Daphnee and Chief Atlas went to the markets. They also discovered that the research to fulfill Sister Barbarita's Geas led to a weasly little man who demanded a hefty sum for giving them some very cryptic answers.

The result on the Expanded Quest Resolutions from the Freelancer's Handbook gave that I had to pay 4 Credits to gain another Quest Rumour. I paid and have now a total of 3 Quest Rumours.

Sister Barbarita and Mrs Haxwell found TWO patrons, both Private Organisations, same Danger Pay but one of the Patrons is Persistent so went with that one.

Hyacinth Begonia picked up a tip about pirates in the area. I could automatically evade Rivals this turn.

Captain Archibald was offered a Small Job. Eliminate a random figure in next battle and earn 2 Credits.

Torbein met an interesting character and picked up a Quest Rumour.

Atlas traded and came over a "Pre-Owned" Duelling Pistol that needs repair.

Daphnee traded and managed to procure Medical Reserves, 2 Stim Packs and 2 Med Patches. Handy stuff.


The Private Company Extra-Solar Resolutions had a Mission for us that has to be done NOW this Turn! They provide +2 Cr in Danger Pay and are also Persistent, which mean I don't lose them when I travel to another planet.

It's a Fight Off scenario vs 8 Security Bots (Defensive AI)
5 regular with Military Rifles
2 Specialists with Shotguns
1 Lieutenant Clingfire Pistol and Blade

They are Fearless, Reckless and have Armour Save 6+

Chance for reinforcements. If they've taken casualties, roll 1D6. If it's equal to or less than the number of rounds played, 1 enemy will enter the table. From round 6 and onwards, there'll be one enemy EVERY turn guaranteed...

A Loot Cache will be present.

This will be very interesting as I have mostly met Aggressive and Rampaging enemies so far. One encounter was with Tactical enemies.

[mikedemana]

Good to see the crew getting a chance to enjoy their successes and make advancements!

I hope that one day I can assemble a crew and follow in their footsteps...!

Mike Demana

[Legionnaire]

Good to see the crew getting a chance to enjoy their successes and make advancements!

I hope that one day I can assemble a crew and follow in their footsteps...!

Mike Demana

Cheers Mate. I usually have a few ideas already in place before playing a game, so sometimes I tweak it slightly to fit. Like Sister Barbarita, as the Councillor onboard, she's an Empath and "needed" a Lightsabre so I gave her a Glare Sword right from the start  . Also, every good ship needs a doctor, hence Daphnee's aspirations.

It has proven that it takes you a good few games to earn some money and paying off the debts. Even though you roll on tables, your choices MATTERS very much what you spend money on. Important to try to keep a buffer for "unexpected expenses" (I've rolled Tax Man twice and both times it cost me a lot of credits  )

I really, really like this rulesystem. It fits my time available to play a game, with just enough rules to make every game interesting and unpredictable enough. I have been saved several times by having Stim Packs available.

I incorporate several rules from the Trailblazer's Toolkit and the Freelancer's Handbook, which really makes an already very good game even better. The Dramatic Combat option is a given in my opinion, with both crew and enemies potentially ducking back after being shot upon, making the combat more dynamic and "alive". Also the tweaks to the weapons is almost a must-have. I haven't bought the Fixer's book but might do that in the near future.

I also really like the options for deployment variables for the enemies and escalating battles. I prep the whole scenario with Battlefield Conditions, Escalating Battles, Deployment Variables etc and note them down before playing a scenario. That way, I don't have to interrupt the "flow" playing the game to stop and look up table x, y or z, forgetting what I was doing returning to the game  . I just pretend that that "Ambush" in Turn 3 was totally unexpected and carry on  .

The games themselves rarely take longer than an hour to play. But taking notes, pictures usually doubles that time, then the AAR writing another hour or so. 3-4 hours entertainment of a game, not too bad if you ask me  .